Reggie Watts Is Officially Feeling the Bern

Reggie Watts pledges his political support alongside writer/director/actor Benjamin Dickinson in this clip from our upcoming interview about their new film, 'Creative Control.'

by Beckett Mufson

March 15, 2016, 8:35pm

Reggie Watts in CREATIVE CONTROL, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures

Beatboxing, rap, and esoteric comedy fans of North Carolina, Missouri, Ohio, Florida, and Illinois, take note: afro-touting verbal shaman Reggie Watts has thrown his hat into Bernie Sanders' camp this primary season. In an interview with The Creators Project about his upcoming film Creative Control, Watts joins writer, director, and star Benjamin Dickinson in embracing the Vermont senator's ideals.

"There's surplus. People should be able to go to college for free if they want to," says Dickinson. "We don't all need to labor. It's great if part of humanity just wants to study woodworking, or make a really great domino rally, or find a medical cure for cancer." This echoes Sanders' platform on the subject. At a town hall on Sunday, he said, "I believe we should make public colleges and universities tuition-free so that anybody in this country who has the ability, who has the qualifications will be able to get a college degree, regardless of the income of his or her family."

Reggie Watts and Benjamin Dickinson in CREATIVE CONTROL, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures

"[Do I feel] the Bern?" Watts asks when I point out the similarity. "Yeah, why not? I mean, I do. He's got some really cool ideas." Adds Dickinson, "Let's come out. I endorse Bernie." Creative Control follows a young creative's struggle with societal pressure to succeed economically, the never-ending march of progress, and his own human flaws in a near-future world.

These issues face young creatives today, and are manifest in the current election cycle throughout Sanders' campaign. Watts continues, "There's not a lot to choose from. It's basically Sanders and Hillary. But human beings, we love to be backed into a corner. Then we make the right choice. It's like, 'Thanks, Hitler, for bringing us together." Laughing, Dickinson says, "We love that. It's the only way we ever change."

Check out brief section of our conversation below. The full video, which tackles creative foibles and how artists will have to adjust to technology, is coming soon on The Creators Project.